1 Samuel 5-12

New International Reader's Version

The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

5 The Philistines had captured the ark of God. They took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They carried the ark into the temple of their god Dagon. They set it down beside the statue of Dagon. ³ The people of Ashdod got up early the next day. They saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. So they picked up the statue of Dagon. They put it back in its place. ⁴ But the following morning when they got up, they saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground again! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. Its head and hands had been broken off. Only the body of the statue was left. Its head and hands were lying in the doorway of the temple. ⁵ That’s why to this day no one steps on the bottom part of the doorway of Dagon’s temple at Ashdod. Not even the priests of Dagon step there.

⁶ The Lord’s power was against the people of Ashdod and the settlements near it. He destroyed them. He made them suffer with growths in their bodies. ⁷ The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us. His power is against us and against our god Dagon.” ⁸ So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines. They asked them, “What should we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

The rulers answered, “Have the ark moved to Gath.” So they moved it.

⁹ But after the people of Ashdod had moved the ark, the Lord’s power was against Gath. That threw its people into a great panic. The Lord made them break out with growths in their bodies. It happened to young people and old people alike. ¹⁰ So the ark of God was sent to Ekron.

As the ark was entering Ekron, the people of the city cried out. They shouted, “They’ve brought the ark of the god of Israel to us. They want to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines. They said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place. If you don’t, it will kill us and our people.” The death of so many people had filled the city with panic. God’s power was against the city. ¹² Those who didn’t die suffered with growths in their bodies. The people of Ekron cried out to heaven for help.

The Philistines Return the Ark to Israel

6 The ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory for seven months. ² The Philistines called for the priests and for those who practice evil magic. They wanted their advice. They said to them, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

³ They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, don’t send it back to him without a gift. Be sure you send a guilt offering to their god along with it. Then you will be healed. You will find out why his power has continued to be against you.”

⁴ The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”

Their advisers replied, “There are five Philistine rulers. So send five gold rats. Also send five gold models of the growths in your bodies. Do it because the same plague has struck you and your rulers alike. ⁵ Make models of the rats and the growths that are destroying the country. Give honor to Israel’s god. Then perhaps his power will no longer be against you, your gods and your land. ⁶ Why are you stubborn, as Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were? Israel’s god was very hard on them. Only then did they send the Israelites out. Only then did they let them go on their way.

⁷ “Now then, get a new cart ready. Get two cows that have just had calves. Be sure the cows have never pulled a cart before. Tie the cart to them. But take their calves away and put them in a pen. ⁸ Then put the ark of the Lord on the cart. Put the gold models in a chest beside the ark. Send them back to the Lord as a guilt offering. Send the cart on its way. ⁹ But keep an eye on the cart. See if it goes up toward Beth Shemesh to its own territory. If it does, then it’s the Lord who has brought this horrible trouble on us. But if it doesn’t, then we’ll know it wasn’t his hand that struck us. We’ll know it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ So that’s what they did. They took the two cows and tied the cart to them. They put the calves in a pen. ¹¹ They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart. They put the chest there along with it. The chest held the gold models of the rats and of the growths. ¹² Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh. They stayed on the road. They were mooing all the way. They didn’t turn to the right or the left. The Philistine rulers followed them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ The people of Beth Shemesh were working in the valley. They were gathering their wheat crop. They looked up and saw the ark. When they saw it, they were filled with joy. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. It stopped there beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood the cart was made out of. They sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ Some Levites had taken the ark of the Lord off the cart. They had also taken off the chest that held the gold models. They placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings to the Lord. They also made sacrifices to him. ¹⁶ The five Philistine rulers saw everything that happened. On that same day they returned to Ekron.

¹⁷ The Philistines sent gold models of growths as a guilt offering to the Lord. There was one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. ¹⁸ They also sent five gold models of rats. There was one for each of the Philistine towns that belonged to the five rulers. Each of those towns had high walls around it. The towns also had country villages around them. The Levites set the ark of the Lord on the large rock. To this day the rock is a witness to what happened there. It’s in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ But some of the people of Beth Shemesh looked into the ark of the Lord. So he struck them down. He put 70 of them to death. The rest of the people were filled with sorrow. That’s because the Lord had killed so many of them. ²⁰ The people of Beth Shemesh said, “The Lord is a holy God. Who can stand in front of him? Where can the ark go up to from here?”

²¹ Then messengers were sent to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.” 7 ¹ So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark of the Lord. They brought it up to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They set his son Eleazar apart to guard the ark. ² The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for a long time. It was there for a full 20 years.

Samuel Brings the Philistines Under Israel’s Control

Then all the Israelites turned back to the Lord. ³ So Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “Do you really want to return to the Lord with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your false gods. Get rid of your statues of female gods that are named Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the power of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites put away their statues of gods that were named Baal. They put away their statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in front of the Lord. On that day they didn’t eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, “We’ve sinned against the Lord.” Samuel was serving as the leader of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid. ⁸ They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God to help us. Keep praying that he’ll save us from the power of the Philistines.” ⁹ Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord to help Israel. And the Lord answered his prayer.

¹⁰ The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away. ¹¹ The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Kar. They killed them all along the way.

¹² Then Samuel got a big stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer. He said, “The Lord has helped us every step of the way.”

¹³ So the Philistines were brought under Israel’s control. The Philistines didn’t attack their territory again. The Lord used his power against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴ The Philistines had captured many towns between Ekron and Gath. But they had to give all of them back. Israel took back the territories near those towns from the control of the Philistines. During that time Israel and the Amorites were friendly toward each other.

¹⁵ Samuel continued to lead Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ From year to year he traveled from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He served Israel as judge in all those places. ¹⁷ But he always went back to Ramah. That’s where his home was. He served Israel as judge there too. And he built an altar there to honor the Lord.

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. ² The name of his oldest son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They served as judges at Beersheba. ³ But his sons didn’t live as he did. They were only interested in making money. They accepted money from people who wanted special favors. They made things that were wrong appear to be right.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all the other nations have.”

⁶ Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord told him, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king. ⁸ They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this day. Now they are deserting you too. ⁹ Let them have what they want. But give them a strong warning. Let them know what the king who rules over them will expect to be done for him.”

¹⁰ Samuel told the people who were asking him for a king everything the Lord had said. ¹¹ Samuel told them, “Here’s what the king who rules over you will expect to be done for him. He will take your sons. He’ll make them serve with his chariots and horses. They will run in front of his chariots. ¹² He’ll choose some of your sons to be commanders of thousands of men. Some will be commanders of fifties. Others will have to plow his fields and gather his crops. Still others will have to make weapons of war and parts for his chariots. ¹³ He’ll also take your daughters. Some will have to make perfume. Others will be forced to cook and bake. ¹⁴ He will take away your best fields and vineyards and olive groves. He’ll give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and a tenth of your grapes. He’ll give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male and female servants. He’ll take your best cattle and donkeys. He’ll use all of them any way he wants to. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that time comes, you will cry out for help because of the king you have chosen. But the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”

¹⁹ In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰ Then we’ll be like all the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”

²¹ Samuel heard everything the people said. He told the Lord about it. ²² The Lord answered, “Listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Each of you go back to your own town.”

Samuel Anoints Saul to Be Israel’s King

9 There was a man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was a very important person. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah from the tribe of Benjamin. ² Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man. He was more handsome than anyone in Israel. And he was a head taller than anyone else.

³ The donkeys that belonged to Saul’s father Kish were lost. So Kish spoke to his son Saul. He said, “Go and look for the donkeys. Take one of the servants with you.” ⁴ Saul and his servant went through the hill country of Ephraim. They also went through the area around Shalisha. But they didn’t find the donkeys. So they went on into the area of Shaalim. But the donkeys weren’t there either. Then Saul went through the territory of Benjamin. But they still didn’t find the donkeys.

⁵ When Saul and the servant with him reached the area of Zuph, Saul spoke to the servant. He said, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop thinking about the donkeys. Instead, he’ll start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant replied, “There’s a man of God here in Ramah. People have a lot of respect for him. Everything he says comes true. So let’s go and see him now. Perhaps he’ll tell us which way to go.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go to see the man, what can we give him? There isn’t any food in our sacks. We don’t have a gift for the man of God. So what can we give him?”

⁸ The servant answered Saul again. “Look,” he said. “I’ve got a tenth of an ounce of silver. I’ll give it to the man of God. Then maybe he’ll tell us which way to go.” ⁹ In Israel, prophets used to be called seers. So if someone wanted to ask God for advice, they would say, “Come on. Let’s go to the seer.”

¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea. Come on. Let’s go and ask the seer.” So they started out for the town where the man of God lived.

¹¹ They were going up the hill toward the town. Along the way they met some young women who were coming out to get water from the well. Saul and his servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² “Yes, he is,” they answered. “In fact, he’s just up ahead of you. So hurry along. He has just come to our town today. The people are going to offer a sacrifice at the high place where they worship. ¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you will find him. He’ll be there until he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t start eating until he gets there. He must bless the sacrifice first. After that, those who are invited will eat. So go on up. You should find him there just about now.”

¹⁴ They went up to the town. As they were entering it, they saw Samuel. He was coming toward them. He was on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵ The Lord had spoken to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had said, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man. He is from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the king of my people Israel. He will save them from the power of the Philistines. I have seen how much my people are suffering. Their cry for help has reached me.”

¹⁷ When Samuel saw a man coming toward him, the Lord spoke to Samuel again. He said, “He is the man I told you about. His name is Saul. He will govern my people.”

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel at the gate of the town. He asked Samuel, “Can you please show me the seer’s house?”

¹⁹ “I’m the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go on up to the high place ahead of me. I want you and your servant to eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I’ll tell you what’s on your mind. Then I’ll send you on your way. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago. They’ve already been found. But who do all the Israelites want? You and your father’s whole family!”

²¹ Saul answered, “But I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. It’s the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the least important in the whole tribe of Benjamin. So why are you saying that to me?”

²² Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the room where they would be eating. He seated them at the head table. About 30 people had been invited. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the piece of meat I gave you. It’s the one I told you to put to one side.”

²⁴ So the cook went and got a choice piece of thigh. He set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been kept for you. Eat it. It was put to one side for you for this special occasion. We’ve saved it for you ever since I invited the guests.” And Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ They came down from the high place to the town. After that, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of Samuel’s house. ²⁶ The next day they got up at about the time the sun was rising. Samuel called out to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get ready. Then I’ll send you on your way.” So Saul got ready. And he and Samuel went outside together. ²⁷ As they were on their way down to the edge of town, Samuel spoke to Saul. He said, “Tell the servant to go ahead of us.” So the servant went on ahead. Then Samuel continued, “Stay here for a while. I’ll give you a message from God.”

10 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the king of his people. ² When you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They’ll say to you, ‘The donkeys you have been looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped thinking about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He’s asking, “What can I do to find my son?” ’

³ “You will go on from Zelzah until you come to the large tree at Tabor. Three men will meet you there. They’ll be on their way up to Bethel to worship God. One of them will be carrying three young goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. A third will be carrying a bottle of wine. It will be a bottle made out of animal skin. ⁴ The men will greet you. They’ll offer you two loaves of bread. You will accept the loaves from them.

⁵ “After that, you will go to Gibeah of God. Some Philistine soldiers are stationed there. As you approach the town, you will meet a group of prophets. They’ll be coming down from the high place where they worship. People will be playing lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps at the head of the group. The prophets will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you. Then you will prophesy along with them. You will become a different person. ⁷ All these things will happen. Then do what you want to do. God is with you.

⁸ “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. You can be sure that I’ll come down to you there. I’ll come and sacrifice burnt offerings and friendship offerings. But you must wait there for seven days until I come to you. Then I’ll tell you what to do.”

Saul Becomes King of Israel

⁹ As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart. All these things happened that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met Saul. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He prophesied along with them. ¹¹ Those who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets. They asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also one of the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived in Gibeah answered, “Yes, he is. In fact, he’s their leader.” That’s why people say, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?” ¹³ After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place to worship.

¹⁴ Later, Saul’s uncle spoke to him and his servant. He asked, “Where have you been?”

“Looking for the donkeys,” Saul said. “But we couldn’t find them. So we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶ Saul replied, “He told us the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn’t tell his uncle that Samuel had said he would become king.

¹⁷ Samuel sent a message to the Israelites. He told them to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt. I saved you from their power. I also saved you from the power of all the kingdoms that had treated you badly.’ ¹⁹ But now you have turned your backs on your God. He saves you out of all your trouble and suffering. In spite of that, you have said, ‘We refuse to listen. Place a king over us.’ So now gather together to meet with the Lord. Do it tribe by tribe and family group by family group.”

²⁰ Then Samuel had each tribe of Israel come forward. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen by casting lots. ²¹ Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward, family group by family group. Matri’s group was chosen. Finally Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. But when people looked for him, they realized he wasn’t there. ²² They needed more help from the Lord. So they asked him, “Has the man come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He has hidden himself among the supplies.”

²³ So they ran over there and brought him out. When he stood up, the people saw that he was a head taller than any of them. ²⁴ Samuel spoke to all the people. He said, “Look at the man the Lord has chosen! There isn’t anyone like him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “May the king live a long time!”

²⁵ Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of the king who ruled over them. He wrote them down in a book. He placed it in front of the Lord in the holy tent. Then he sent the people away. He sent each of them to their own homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. Some brave men whose hearts God had touched went with Saul. ²⁷ But some people who wanted to stir up trouble said, “How can this fellow save us?” They looked down on him. They didn’t bring him any gifts. But Saul kept quiet about it.

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh Gilead

11 Nahash was the king of Ammon. He and his army went up to Jabesh Gilead. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. All the men of Jabesh spoke to Nahash. They said, “Make a peace treaty with us. Then we’ll be under your control.”

² Nahash, the king of Ammon, replied, “I will make a peace treaty with you. But I’ll do it only on one condition. You must let me put out the right eye of every one of you. I want to bring shame on the whole nation of Israel.”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days to report back to you. We’ll send messengers all through Israel. If no one comes to save us, we’ll hand ourselves over to you.”

⁴ The messengers came to Gibeah of Saul. They reported to the people the terms Nahash had required. Then all the people wept out loud. ⁵ Just then Saul was coming in from the fields. He was walking behind his oxen. He asked, “What’s wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” He was told what the men of Jabesh had said.

⁶ When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He became very angry. ⁷ He got a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. He sent the pieces by messengers all through Israel. They announced, “You must follow Saul and Samuel. If you don’t, this is what will happen to your oxen.” The terror of the Lord fell on the people. So all of them came together with one purpose in mind. ⁸ Saul brought his army together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 from Judah.

⁹ The messengers who had come were told, “Go back and report to the men of Jabesh Gilead. Tell them, ‘By the hottest time of the day tomorrow, you will be rescued.’ ” The messengers went and reported it to the men of Jabesh. It made those men very happy. ¹⁰ They said to the people of Ammon, “Tomorrow we’ll hand ourselves over to you. Then you can do to us whatever you like.”

¹¹ The next day Saul separated his men into three groups. While it was still dark, they broke into the camp of the Ammonite army. They kept killing the men of Ammon until the hottest time of the day. Those who got away were scattered. There weren’t two of them left together anywhere.

The People Agree to Have Saul as King

¹² The people said to Samuel, “Who asked, ‘Is Saul going to rule over us?’ Turn these men over to us. We’ll put them to death.”

¹³ But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today! After all, this is the day the Lord has rescued Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come on. Let’s go to Gilgal. There we’ll agree again to have Saul as our king.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal. There, with the Lord as witness, they made Saul their king. There they sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord. And there Saul and all the Israelites celebrated with great joy.

Samuel’s Final Speech to Israel

12 Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “I’ve done everything you asked me to do. I’ve placed a king over you. ² Now you have a king as your leader. But I’m old. My hair is gray. My sons are here with you. I’ve been your leader from the time I was young until this day. ³ Here I stand. Bring charges against me if you can. The Lord is a witness. And so is his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I treated anyone badly? Have I accepted money from anyone who wanted special favors? If I’ve done any of these things, I’ll make it right.”

⁴ “You haven’t cheated us,” they replied. “You haven’t treated us badly. You haven’t taken anything from anyone.”

⁵ Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you this day. And so is his anointed king. They are witnesses that I haven’t taken anything from any of you.”

“The Lord is a witness,” they said.

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron. He brought out of Egypt your people who lived long ago. ⁷ Now then, stand here. I’m going to remind you of all the good things the Lord has done for you and your people. He is a witness.

⁸ “After Jacob’s family entered Egypt, they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your people out of Egypt. They had them make their homes in this land.

⁹ “But the people forgot the Lord their God. So he put them under the control of Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord also put the Israelites under the control of the Philistines and the king of Moab. All those nations fought against Israel. ¹⁰ So the people cried out to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We’ve deserted the Lord. We’ve served gods that are named Baal. We’ve served female gods that are named Ashtoreth. But save us now from the power of our enemies. Then we will serve you.’ ¹¹ The Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and me. He saved you from the power of your enemies who were all around you. So you lived in safety.

¹² “But then you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, was about to attack you. So you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ You said it even though the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ Now here is the king you have chosen. He’s the one you asked for. The Lord has placed a king over you. ¹⁴ But you must have respect for the Lord. You must serve him and obey him. You must not say no to his commands. Both you and the king who rules over you must obey the Lord your God. If you do, that’s good. ¹⁵ But you must not disobey him. You must not say no to his commands. If you do, his power will be against you. That’s what happened to your people who lived before you.

¹⁶ “So stand still. Watch the great thing the Lord is about to do right here in front of you! ¹⁷ It’s time to gather in the wheat, isn’t it? I’ll call out to the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what an evil thing you did in the sight of the Lord. You shouldn’t have asked for a king.”

¹⁸ Samuel called out to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people had great respect for the Lord and for Samuel.

¹⁹ They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us. Pray that we won’t die because we asked for a king. That was an evil thing to do. We added it to all our other sins.”

²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel replied. “It’s true that you have done all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart. ²¹ Don’t turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can’t do you any good. They can’t save you either. They are completely useless. ²² But the Lord will be true to his great name. He won’t turn his back on his people. That’s because he was pleased to make you his own people. ²³ I would never sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I’ll teach you to live in a way that is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart. Think about the great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But don’t be stubborn. Don’t continue to do what is evil. If you do, both you and your king will be destroyed.”